For this post I would like you to find an photo online that appeals to you. It can be of anything. Share the link to the photo with us and write a short paragraph about why the image strikes you? What about the composition and/or associated story is important to you? What do you notice about the photographers choices?

Our goal here is to continue thinking about the power of images from both the photographer and viewers perspectives. Do not forget to respond to a peer.

I chose this image because it is a place that I want to travel to at some point in my life. Everything about this picture has a calming presence. I am a beach girl and love being in the water. My favorite thing is when the water is crystal clear. I love the whole scenery and I can vision myself sitting in this picture looking out to see the water and the mountains. It is overall a beautiful picture. I think the photographer chose to take this picture because of the cool way that the huts are set up in the water. Instead of having a blank canvas with just the water and mountains the huts add an interesting shape to the picture. I like how the water changes from a light blue to a dark blue.

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Duncan Passell

10/17/2018 07:59:35 am

While you didn’t post the link to the photo your description of it was enough for me to form an idea of what it must have looked like. The idea of nature photography has always fascinated me because nature can be beautiful but also can be used to remind us of what is important in life and to take things slow. Mountains especially are good at reminding us how impermanent we are as humans and how nature can and will outlast us. It’s always interesting to see the way contrast can happen between people and nature in photos and in art.

The reason this picture strikes me so much is due to the context and what it meant for me. This picture was taken on the night John Lennon was killed by the man he is pictured with, Mark David Chapman. The idea that Lennon signed his copy of the album Double Fantasy before hours later shooting Lennon dead before he entered his apartment hours later is both terrifying and incredibly crazy. Mark David Chapman felt like a man out of time and like he was Holden Caulfield from the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, and as such he hated what he called phonies. He saw Lennon as a phony and traveled to New York to kill him. This photo was taken several hours before Chapman shot and killed him. What this picture meant to me was that I once played Mark David Chapman in a play called the Sacrificial King my senior year of high school, and It represents a lot of time I spent getting into character and trying to get into Mark Chapman’s head. What really got to me was that this was a real thing and that this man actually went to New York and shot John Lennon dead, it made me feel sick and angry every time I saw it, which helped fuel my ability to play the character and churn out a character that was just as deplorable as the real Mark David Chapman.

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Ashley Szczoczarz

10/17/2018 09:15:42 am

Hey Duncan; great job!
Although our photos are very different, we both found a photo that meant something very special in our own lives. My photo resonated with me in a positive way, but I found it interesting that you were able to find a photo that resonated with you in a negative way. I had never heard the story of how John Lennon was killed, so this actually helped me understand the context of why this photo is so meaningful. Also, I loved how you connected the photo to your own experience as playing his character! Many of us don’t have an experience where we have put ourselves into the shoes of a famous person to portray their emotions and actions. I believe it would be especially hard because of his ability to do such horrific things. Great job finding a photo and explaining its importance in your own life!

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Emma Mills

10/17/2018 08:44:44 am

This is the link for my picture! I forgot to post it along with my post! https://www.tahiti.com/hotels/intercontinental-bora-bora-resort---thalasso-spa-2964

The above mentioned picture captured my attention because of its aesthetic appeal. It is a beautiful sunset photo with three girls holding hands. Although it may seem like an ordinary photo, it strikes me because of the various ways it could be interpreted and its overall beauty. The story behind the picture is important in my own life because I have two younger sisters. Although our age differences are bigger, this picture makes me think back to our childhood together and the memories we have. Although the photo does not explicitly say that the three girls pictured our siblings, the image resonated with me because of my own experience as being an older sister. I have similar pictures and memories of my sisters and I by the water holding hands, so this beautiful photo captured my attention because of that.
The photographer did an excellent job of capturing the sunset and the girls silhouettes. The spacing between the girls and the height pattern was appealing to look at, and the photo has the capacity to capture the audience's attention. I like how the photographer included the oldest girl in the middle, as I am often put in the position of being a role model for my two younger sisters. One of my sisters, in college now, will come to me with homework questions or when she is in need of life advice. My younger sister, only in the second grade, will come to me when she is bored and wants to hang out or when she has questions that she feels uncomfortable asking others about. This one photo brought up all of the memories that I have with my siblings, and how lucky I am to have shared these moments.

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Emma Mills

10/17/2018 05:24:09 pm

I think the photo that you chose. The reason I like this photo is because its on the beach and I love kids. It is such a cute picture and I like how the girls are almost a silhouette. It is relatable to my life because it reminds me of going to the beach with two of my best friends to watch the sunset. It is such a calming photo because of the waves behind the girls. It reminds me of a late summer night at the beach.

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Nicole Giannino

10/21/2018 11:50:50 pm

Hi Ashley, I loved your interpretation of this image. I think that your connection to your own family was key to understanding why you chose the photo. I liked how you talked about each aspect of the photo, like the girl in the middle being the oldest, and how you connected it to being a role model for your siblings. Overall, you did a great job!

The image attached is one of a sea turtle about to be suffocated by a plastic bag floating within the sea. The reason the piece works so well is because it emphasizes the turtle which makes us sympathize more with the image. It also is a very successful piece because it shows the actual act about to happen and scares the person that harm is about to occur. It encourages the reader to want to stop the act, and potentially do something about it.

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Brian P Garland

10/17/2018 01:08:10 pm

I agree this is a moving picture. It's overwhelming in making me think about pollution and the way it's going, there's only going to be more instances of animals being harmed by pollution. We can already prove climate change and how pollution and greenhouse gases are also impacting the breeding and lifecycles of many animals including turtles.

It's absolutely horrifying to think of where the world will end up from pollution.

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Chase Pollina

10/19/2018 04:47:45 pm

That definitely is a very emotional picture, but it really promotes a great cause. Hopefully seeing what littering and pollution is doing to other helpless animals firsthand will be the wake up call the world needs to step up and be cleaner!

I really love this photograph because we can feel so much through it. This photograph raises many questions and concerns but also makes you think about society and youth. As children we dont choose where we come from or who raises us. A lot of actions or behavior that children show comes from the home they are being raised in. This picture makes me wonder what family life is for her, makes me wonder where she will be in 10 years and who she is now. This Picture just gives endless ideas, questions and symbolism of american youth and thats why I like it.

This is a photo by John Swisher of the Zakim Bridge in Boston. What strikes me is how the bridge connects all the parts of Boston together (I drove on it last week all the way to Andover) and how much of Boston can be seen from the bridge. I think how it looks at night is calming. Yes there's a ton of cars, traffic and people just wanting to go home, but there's something special about how it all looks at night with all of the buildings and flashing lights in and around the bridge. I hate traffic but I enjoy looking at this whenever I go through Boston.

The photographer shot this with an overhead view of the bridge that really captures all of the buildings, lights and skylines of the city. You can see how the sky is changing from dusk to night, but it's right in the middle of the transition so many colors can be seen in the sky.

It gives me a feeling of how small we all really are. While we live in such a big world, it doesn't have to look ugly. I personally like the design of the bridge as well.

In this picture, it shows a happy chimp holding a baby white tiger gently like his own baby. It's pretty crazy to think about the fact two animals of different species can share such an intimate bond. The picture really hits me right in the feels because the baby tiger is peacefully sleeping, knowing he is safe in his arms. Meanwhile the monkey looks so happy and he is just sitting there like "I shall protect my weird looking child at all costs." Anything with animals is always touching, but this takes the cake!

The photo that I chose is the first image on the article that I linked, and it is of David Price of the Boston Red Sox. This image speaks to me because I can feel the emotion radiating off of Price from the heat of competition that he is in. His primal scream that he is unleashing in the photo is how I felt as a fan whenever he struck out an Astros hitter or made a big out to keep the Red Sox in front. As a fan, the image of him yelling as a means of celebration means a lot to me because Price deserved that moment that is pictured. He struggled to finally earn a postseason win as a starter until that game, and I can feel that sense of relief that he must’ve felt from the image. I like how the photographer has Price in focus and the entire Astros crowd in a blur because it makes Price stand out, it’s all about him and it reinforces the fact that it’s his moment.

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Jesse Almeida

10/22/2018 07:49:04 am

Love the photo and I love what you choose to do! David Price went through a lot with the Boston media and the fans, but now he finally got his first career postseason. He got that "monkey" off his back and he has the media and fans trust and confidence in him. It means a lot to me because he's a very kind human being and does not deserve to be lashed on the way the media and some fans get on him. I could go on all day but good for him to achieve this accomplishment!

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Nicole Giannino

10/21/2018 11:47:02 pm

http://www.spring.org.uk/images/depression-2.jpg

I chose this image because it represents internal struggle. I feel a connection with this image because of the mental illness that has consumed me. I like this photo because you can see this woman’s pain, it is portrayed in such a way that it reminded me of my struggle with anxiety and depression. It brings me memories of pain and actually, times where I sat exactly like that crying and feeling so much pain. I think that this photo for me is a visual representation of the internal struggle, because it captures pain in a pure form. The way she is grasping her head and her hair is a sign of pain for me. I think that looking at this image shows a lot, and may bring up different feelings for each person that views it, but my interpretation was very personal to me and my struggles. I think that it would be really interesting to see how someone else interprets this photo. I wanted to choose a photo that spoke to me, but I wonder what speaks to others. I think that someone could view this photo as a sign of stress, maybe disappointment, or maybe a woman who feels conflicted. This photo was very dark especially in the top left corner, which made me feel like there was something looming over the woman. This is how mental illness feels to me, like there’s a darkness surrounding you. I think that whether or not this was the author’s goal for the image, it really spoke to me in this way.

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Jesse Almeida

10/22/2018 07:40:47 am

I choose this image because this is a hot event that is happening this week. The Red Sox are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 2013. This image is just amazing to see. As a diehard Red Sox fan, and after going to 40 games this year including 2 road trips, this connects to me because this is a part of my life. I will be going to the game on Wednesday as well so this image gets me pumped up and ready to watch this team hopefully win it all. The photographer got a great shot of the players and the green monster with the world series posted up. It gives me a more pumped up feeling wanting this series to start very soon. Hopefully this will all end with a parade in Boston!

I chose this picture because symbolizes a women that has been through a lot of pain and depression because of the tears in her eyes. From my perspective I think that she lost the love of her life or the relationship was unhealthy. Being a relationship with somebody is like creating a strong bond and commitment towards the future. But from her situation the bond commitment was probably broken which probably had an effect on her mentality and physically.